Deere & Company $DE Stock: Washington Trust Advisors Inc. Reduces Stake

Key Points

• Washington Trust Advisors reduced its Deere stake by 4.7% in the third quarter, selling 2,815 shares and retaining 56,715 shares valued at approximately $38.1 million. Institutional investors and hedge funds collectively own 68.58% of Deere.
• Analyst sentiment remains broadly positive, with 17 Buy ratings and eight Holds, producing a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and an average price target of $688.10.
• Deere shares recently traded at $645.61, while the company reported quarterly EPS of $5.10 and revenue of $12.61 billion, exceeding expectations. It also declared a quarterly dividend of $1.62 per share, equivalent to a 1.0% annualized yield.

Washington Trust Advisors Inc. cut its holdings in Deere & Company (NYSE:DE - Free Report) by 4.7% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 56,715 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 2,815 shares during the quarter. Deere & Company makes up 2.7% of Washington Trust Advisors Inc.'s holdings, making the stock its 11th biggest holding. Washington Trust Advisors Inc.'s holdings in Deere & Company were worth $38,087,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the business. SHEPHERD WEALTH MANAGEMENT Ltd LIABILITY Co lifted its holdings in shares of Deere & Company by 3.2% in the second quarter. SHEPHERD WEALTH MANAGEMENT Ltd LIABILITY Co now owns 516 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $308,000 after acquiring an additional 16 shares during the last quarter. Concorde Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Deere & Company by 3.0% in the 2nd quarter. Concorde Asset Management LLC now owns 581 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $369,000 after purchasing an additional 17 shares in the last quarter. MCF Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Deere & Company by 0.9% during the 2nd quarter. MCF Advisors LLC now owns 1,999 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $1,271,000 after purchasing an additional 17 shares during the last quarter. XY Planning Network Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Deere & Company by 2.3% during the 3rd quarter. XY Planning Network Inc. now owns 765 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $514,000 after purchasing an additional 17 shares during the last quarter. Finally, CRA Financial Services LLC increased its position in Deere & Company by 1.4% during the 3rd quarter. CRA Financial Services LLC now owns 1,224 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $822,000 after purchasing an additional 17 shares in the last quarter. 68.58% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

DE has been the subject of several research reports. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Deere & Company from a "hold (c)" rating to a "hold (c+)" rating in a research note on Monday, September 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of Deere & Company from $585.00 to $625.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, October 8th. Citigroup upped their price target on shares of Deere & Company from $610.00 to $650.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, August 21st. CICC Research assumed coverage on Deere & Company in a research note on Sunday, September 13th. They issued an "outperform" rating for the company. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded Deere & Company from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Saturday, August 22nd. Seventeen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Deere & Company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $688.10.

Deere & Company Trading Up 0.3%

NYSE:DE traded up $1.99 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $645.61. 693,936 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,162,021. Deere & Company has a fifty-two week low of $454.50 and a fifty-two week high of $721.22. The company has a current ratio of 2.10, a quick ratio of 1.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.45. The firm has a market capitalization of $174.07 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.87, a PEG ratio of 2.35 and a beta of 0.86. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $660.40 and a 200-day simple moving average of $614.23.

Deere & Company (NYSE:DE - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 20th. The industrial products company reported $5.10 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.69 by $0.41. The firm had revenue of $12.61 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $10.81 billion. Deere & Company had a net margin of 10.16% and a return on equity of 18.10%. The company's revenue was up 6.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $4.75 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that Deere & Company will post 18.11 earnings per share for the current year.

Deere & Company Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 9th. Investors of record on Wednesday, September 30th will be paid a $1.62 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, September 30th. This represents a $6.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.0%. Deere & Company's payout ratio is currently 36.00%.

About Deere & Company

Deere & Company, founded by blacksmith John Deere in 1837, is a global manufacturer of agricultural, construction, forestry and turf-care equipment. The company is headquartered in Moline, Illinois, and operates under the John Deere brand.

Its products include tractors, combines, planters, sprayers, harvesting equipment, loaders, excavators, motor graders, forestry machines, mowers and compact utility equipment. Deere also provides replacement parts, equipment support, financing and technology-enabled solutions designed to improve machine productivity, automation and precision in farming and other industries.

Deere serves customers through dealerships and operations across North America, Latin America, Europe and other international markets.

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